My name is Helen Jones and I’m a doctor employed by the British Antarctic Survey. For the next nine months I’ll be working on board the James Clark Ross as she performs scientific research in the Southern Ocean and supplies the British research bases of Antarctica.
I’ve started this blog in the hopes of entertaining and giving people a chance to see some pretty pictures. I might even throw some science in occasionally!

Wednesday, 23 November 2016

Still Bobbing About

Welcome to the Drake Passage! To the North is the southernmost
tip of the Americas, to the South, the Antarctic peninsula curling up towards the
ship like a beckoning finger. And to either side, there are grumpy scientists
wondering why the deuce they can’t hold the boat steady because all the waves
are making the science difficult! My eyes did widen a little bit when I heard
this last but years of hospital medicine and the intriguing stories that people
tell to explain why the bottle caps ended up precisely where they did, stood me
in good stead. I only let loose a tiny guffaw. Miniscule in fact. And I would
like to say, right now, that the rather unkind rumour circulating the ship that
the doc’s laugh and voice is so loud that she can be heard three decks up is
nothing but vicious lies.

The James Clark Ross is supposed to arrive at Rothera
station on Sunday although this is naturally dependent on the state of the ice.
I’ve been told that this is the earliest that the ship has attempted to get
into Rothera for 15 years. Apparently the last time the ice was so thick that the
ship had to turn back rather than get stuck! It seems from the satellite
pictures, however, that the ice is at last starting to break up. My opposite
numbers in Rothera, Tom and Jenny, assure me that they can see leads in the ice
forming already so I’m looking forward to a little bit of ice breaking over the
next few days!

When we’re at Rothera
we will be resupplying the station with all the goodies that they may have been
running low on throughout the winter. Many of those goodies include food and
gear- such as a water vapour spreader that will reduce dust on the runway- but
we’re also bringing in a healthy supply of new personnel. On board at the
moment we have the dive master, a builder, a plumber and a wealth of scientists
all of whom are desperate to get there and see their new home. I really feel
for them at the moment because they’re passengers on the ship and as such don’t
have specific duties. They do an hour of “gash” each day (That means all the
horrible jobs aboard ship like cleaning the toilets. I really hope it’s an
acronym for something...) but otherwise have to entertain themselves. This
probably explains why there are never any biscuits in the bar!

In view of the forced inactivity various things have been
trialled to keep everyone entertained. Our purser, Rich, is a cruel and evil
fitness fanatic who runs a circuits class down in the hold on a Monday, Wednesday
and Friday. Doing burpees on a moving platform is definitely a novel
experience! The sit ups have a certain comedic value too; sitting up when the
ship is climbing up a wave is a lot harder than when it’s sliding down the
other side. It’s wise to time things well! I’ve learned that the kitchen staff
have a hitherto unsuspected streak of cruelty. Just after completing this
gruelling and savage workout I got to the duty mess to try and force some food
into my debilitated frame. Only to find a tray of beautiful looking pastry and
cream slices laid out which quickly made a mockery of any calories I may have
burned.

But we need the fat this far South, right? Am I right?

I’ve carried on with the quiz nights and last night
introduced a comedy DVD night. This was not an unqualified success. I’ve seen a
certain comedian live in Cardiff where he was absolutely hysterical. But I
hadn’t quite remembered that I had been warmed up by the two previous acts. The DVD started with him explaining that he bit
his girlfriend’s bunion and somehow evolved into him undressing
on stage and dancing before us all. Well
done sir. You played Antarctica- not many comedians can say that! But now I’m
concerned that many of my fellow ship-mates are looking somewhat askance at me!

Fortuitously naked nature was far better than comedians
talking about threatening neo-Nazis whilst in the nuddy. We had a fantastic
show yesterday.

I believe this is a giant petrel- feelings?

Three times during the day whales were spotted. I’m reliably
informed that these are fin whales because they have a dorsal fin that “you
would want to toboggan down.” Er...really? Apparently it meets the back at a
lovely angle that could be sledged down whereas the Sei whales have a more
vertical fin. We’ve acquired a new group of sea birds too. I’ve spent a lot of
time trying to capture them on camera. Regrettably they’re fairly uncooperative
– something of a recurrent theme- and I’ve deleted most of the images that I
took. But I did get some shots of what I think is a giant petrel and some cape
petrels but I would appreciate it if any clever birdy people out there could
confirm or refute this!

4 comments:

Hi Helen, I work with Andy who has been showing us pictures and telling us tales of your adventures and mentioned your blog, which I just wanted to tell you I'm thoroughly enjoying! You write excellently prompting curiosity and chuckles, well done. I particularly enjoyed the penguins. Stay warm! El x